Creating Drama Queens and Kings!

Evam’s newestest brainchild, Theatricals is in town! It’s for us, the slacking youth, sucked dry of all enthusiasm thanks to our monotonous college life. Here’s an escape! Just sign your college up. Quickly! Get to it before November peeks in. Done? Now attend the free workshop conducted by Evam on your campus, for you and all your dramatic friends. You will then get a script to be adapted and presented to compete amongst the top 15 colleges in our theatre-rich city on the 12th and 13th of December. Where, you ask? Sign up, only then will you know.

The response has been killer thus far. SRM and Ethiraj college have already encountered the one day theatrical enrichment. Think your college can do better? Well, what are you waiting for! Prove it!

It’s a wholesome experience of being part of/ running a theatre company, right from the prop-pressures to the ticket-tensions. A 30 minute script presented, well after a day long workshop on learning how to do it. It can’t get any simpler!

All you oldies who are already out of college, come watch! But before that, tell your juniors.

May the best adaptation win! Woohoo!

The new online strategy :P

An IdIoT foR DinNer – round 2!

After a great round of premier across Chennai, B’lore and Hyderabad, we are bring back the idiot for his second round!

Missed it in June? Loved it so much, you HAVE to see it again? Just plain theatre hungry?
Your prayers have been heard.
AN IDIOT FOR DINNER.. A stage adaptation of the French film, “A Dinner of Idiots”.
Presented by Evam, in association with The Boardwalkers.
Directed by Michael Muthu.

CHENNAI-
Where: Chinmaya Heritage Centre, Harrington Road
When: 5th September 2009
When exactly: 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
How much: Rs. 200/300/500
Available at: Fruit Shop on Greams Road, Kilpauk and Besant Nagar.
Landmark (all 3 outlets)
Online bookings: www.bookmyshow.com
Details: www.evam.in
Call: 98402 22363, 98406 12333
For home delivery, call 4224 4224

BANGALORE-
Where: Good Shepherd Auditorium, MG Road
When: 13th September 2009
When exactly: 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
How much: Rs. 200/300/500
Available at: Landmark, Odyssey, Crosswords
Online booking: indianstage.in
More @ evam.in
Details, call 09840222363 or 09840612333
Tickets available from friday!

See you there!

Join the facebook event at -

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150914330420

evam beach day!!

Evam Refresh.

EVAM’S Earnest Idiot for Art Couple Hyssteria Hamlet BEACH DAY
or, for short - Evam’s E.I.A.C.H.H Beach Day (pronounced EACH BEACH DAY)

Evam mave (turn evam on its head!)

Ewham day

E-day

evam BLAZE- Fun in the surf and sun

That’s few of the hundred names we thought we would call the 22nd of August! We never fixed on anything though

Brief background- we though we’d take a break,  break out of the comforts of daily routine, the tranquility of the familiar and other such things!

And it turned out to be one of the best stress-busters we’ve had in a long time!!

Check out the snaps

All hail beach houses!!

Hamlet: The Clown Prince

Bhavya Balantrapu, Team Member, MPTF reporting!

A live audience roaring with laughter at one of Shakespeare’s most stimulating tragedies, is a sure symptom for the epidemic of insensitivity. It was the 9th of August, and it was a particularly beautiful evening.
Gibberish, by definition is unintelligible talk or writing. But oh, boy! In just 75 minutes, the theater-loving folks of Madras, seated in the Sir Muttha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, became scholars of the blather. Cinematograph, Mumbai’s satirical play “Hamlet- The Clown Prince” went beyond everyone’s expectations at the Hindu MetroPlus Theater Fest 2009. Five, white faced, red nosed, exultantly dressed, swift footed clowns, didn’t leave even a minute of silence while on stage, except for the bits in which they reproduced the Shakespearean depth, succeeded by yapping in appreciation of each other for having played the role well. They were all over the stage. While the clowns under main focus made the audience chuckle, the others kept busy in the back, evoking giggles, themselves.
The team’s lights spoke a thousand dialogues. They signified a ghost, emotions, transition and whatnot! The subtle sound of woeful music lilting in the atmosphere, dark red lights filling the stage, clowns looking intense.. Hilarious morosity!
Spontaneity reigned supreme. The lively clowns not only poked fun at each other on stage, but also picked on some of the harmless audience members. Those poor souls who bought the best tickets, thinking they’d get the most fulfilling view of the stage, got a lot more than they bargained for. But all in a lighthearted way, of course!
The play ended with a boom of a standing ovation. Possibly one of the most well perceived, well adapted and more than anything else, well received performances. Director Rajat Kapoor made his mark on Madras that night!

Antigone

The kick-starter play of the Metro Plus Theatre Fest.

Here’s our festival MC, Vijay Marur going at it

Antigone. A play I had read a hundred times. Followed through from the strange backdrop that Oedipus gives it. Lived through the agony of unsuspecting incest. And kinda understood the dilemma that Creon faced.

And finally when I watched its stage adaptation, it was Motley’s.

No regrets mind you, it was nice. But somewhere along the line I got googlied by the Indianisation, got stumped by the localisation and bowled over by the desification.

So here I was, looking at my old hero Benjamin Gilani strutting around the stage in a toga inspired kaftan look-alike costume which incorporated a dupatta. Pontificating. Moving from spot light position A to spot B but managing, in my opinion to be nothing but a mere shadow of what I used to imagine he was. Well that’s one more Hero Worship ritual that’s ended.

Ratna was, well Ratna. A combination of her real life persona, her TV character (I can’t quite remember the name) and a strange interpretation of what she must have imagined an agony aunt called Antigone should look like and behave.

Kenny was wonderful. As the Chief Guard he bonded with his hipflask, flirted well enough with his pack of cards. And celebrated his neck saving performance with elan.

But when Naseer, the great Naseeruddin Shah came onto stage that’s when the magic truly hit the roof. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it in the beginning. But as he came onto stage for the nth time, it hit me. Naseer, the inimitable had hit upon a formula that needs to be documented, even patented.

Well see, the problem with Indians doing English theatre has always been that we are a mess when it comes to accents. Either we, each one of us, puts on this horrible Oxford/Cambridge stiff British Upper Lipper, or we drawl into a pseudo Stanford/Yale/Texas meets Arkansas brogue that would put America’s Irish ancestors to shame. And God forbid if we sounded like Nathuram Godse with his Bharatiya.

Now Naseer, the NSD grad did something amazing…he did a Tussaud’s with a Dilip Kumar/ Amitabh Bachan statue. Spoke like himself, Parsi English and all, but intoned like Prithvi Raj Kapoor. Now no Creon in the world ever spoke like that I tell you, but in this attempt to give his own role a signature tune, Naseer obviously has stumbled onto a fabulous formula.

As people involved with strange occupations like Accent Neutralization etc., we have learnt that Indiians speak English the way they do because the language that makes their backend run is something called Vernacular. So when the English garbage is force fed into the processors in the form of data what comes out as output is fermented English. Spoken sing song, with appropriate nodding of the head and so on. You get the picture?

So how do we avoid caricaturing ourselves? We don’t! We just look for inspiration in our history, in our heritage. As Naseer did.

And voila! The English sounds like Prithviraj was born into it. Like you were weaned on it. I must try this soon. Except maybe I shall use NTR as my role model.

I dared to dream!

1 hour long episode of I dared to dream featuring Evam

The episode is split into 13 parts. Here’s the episode promo!

Here are the episodes links!

Part-1 (5:59)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HwJ0vgglS0

Part-2 (2:56)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDUADB0Rdq0

Part-3 (3:04)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3w9wobcO9k

Part-4 (2:57)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdwfT0TshWM

Part-5 (2:57)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6sFSHgDuEM

Part-6 (4:34)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7cJih6bhHA

Part-7 (4:22)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuJNvh7daig

Part-8 (4:22)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfFT2FF-tME

Part-9 (4:27)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ATPZbxSJJI

Part-10 (5:52)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nADW9L1ClRU

Part-11 (6:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhetB6Bxri0

Part-12 (5:58)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuErZ8FihiA

Part-13 (3:08)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wp5yFLBbKk

MPTF ‘09!

Metro Plus theatre fest!

It’s playtime, folks… MPTF ’09!

It’s that time of year again!

Six plays by some of the best theatre groups you’ll ever see!

Don’t miss Naseerudin Shah, Kalki Koechlin and a bunch of other well known faces, on stage!

Most are acclaimed productions and one premieres at the fest. The plays are in English, Korean and gibberish, and they celebrate everything that theatre stands for.

Here’s what’s on offer

ANTIGONE — August 7. Catch Naseeruddin Shah playing cruel King Creon and Ratna Pathak Shah play his niece Antigone in this production from Motley, Mumbai.

CHICAGO — August 8. Chennai’s Stagefright Productions premieres its adaptation of the popular 1975 musical — it’s dark and sexy, has a huge cast, and promises plenty of entertainment.

HAMLET – THE CLOWN PRINCE — August 9. Shakespeare understood, interpreted and adapted by clowns? Watch this award-winning play directed by Rajat Kapur and performed by Cinematograph, Mumbai. A Hamlet like you’ve never seen before.

CITIZEN JOSH — August 14. How do you resume a graduation thesis you abandoned decades ago? Make it a monologue on democracy, with a rather comic twist. This has been written and performed by Josh Kornbluth from the USA, supported by the U.S. Consulate General Chennai. A political, comic drama you cannot afford to miss!

THE SKELETON WOMAN — August 15. Kalki Koechlin, ‘Chanda’ from “Dev D”, co-wrote a play with Prashant Prakash, and it went on to win the MetroPlus Playwright Award 09. A tale of a fisherman’s compassion for a skeleton woman that brings her back to life. Catch their haunting story.

MEDEA AND ITS DOUBLE — August 16. Members of the Seoul Factory for the Performing Arts adapt this Greek classic, and perform it using traditional music, movements and martial arts. The sets are spectacular too. And, language need not be a deterrent; there will be surtitles in English. Brought to Chennai with the support of InKo Centre, in association with The Korea Foundation and the Korea Arts Management Service.

The festival grows bigger this year with affiliated performances, exciting food stalls and other surprises at the venue.

Tickets are available online at www.thehindu.com/theatrefest.

Also available at Landmark (Nungambakkam), India Garage (184, Anna Salai, Opp. British Council) and at the venue.

For fest help, call 98402-22363/98406-12333.

Presenting Sponsor: Bose Associate

Sponsors: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., LG electronics India Pvt. Ltd., Nippon Paint and Club Mahindra.

Cultural Partner: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

Hospitality Partner: The Park, Chennai Radio Partner:

Chennai Live 104.8FM

Event Manager: evam

Cut Chennai, edition 5!

As the cleverly structured title subtles suggests, the 5th edition of CUT Chennai happened over last week

We had 20 more people going through the CUT experience. 20 more people energised, pumped up and rearing to go!

Some snaps from the inside attached. Check them out.